What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode we are going to consider a line from the story where God comes down to see what’s going on. It is an interesting and surprising moment. I’ve always seen a little bit of sarcastic humour coming in here – on the part of God that is.

There is also irony here. The tower meant to reach heaven doesn’t seem tall enough to even notice. In order to see the significance of God coming down, we will need to consider the chiastic structure of the story.

The Babel story is arranged rather like a mirror. It begins with humanity moving together towards a single purpose, and then, after reaching the centre of the story, everything happens in reverse.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Books consulted or referred to in this episode:

James Austin, The Tower of Babel in Genesis: How the Tower of Babel Narrative Influences the Theology of Genesis and the Bible, Bloomington, Westbow Press, 2012.

J.P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis: Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis, 2nd Ed., Oregon, Wifpf & Stock, 1991.

Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom:Reading Genesis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024.

Dennis Prager, (Ed. Joseph Telushkin), Genesis: God, Creation and Destruction, The Rational Bible Series, Alperson Edition, Washington, Regenery Faith, 2019.

Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970.